


The Big Five-Oh

by writing_and_worrying



Series: Canon Flavoured TAZ [4]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Comfort, Elves live a long time, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Humans don't, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 01:53:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17214791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_and_worrying/pseuds/writing_and_worrying
Summary: It's Magnus' birthday





	The Big Five-Oh

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! If you like this then please leave a comment and kudos! I also love new ideas for angsty post-canon oneshots so if you wanna request something then go ahead :)

"Hey babe what are you getting Mags for his birthday?" Taako asked Kravitz as he sat next to him on the edge of their bed. Kravitz smiled a little as he pet their cat, Ginger (an appropriately named black cat).

"I found a beautiful woodcarving set in Fantasy Costco. It caught my eye when I was looking for cat food," he replied. Ah, the domestic life. Full of excitement as always. Magnus' birthday was tomorrow... the big five-oh.

"Fuck," Taako mumbled as he flopped backwards onto the soft bed. Kravitz frowned and turned to look at his disgruntled boyfriend.

"What's bothering you, darling?" He asked as he moved his attention back to Ginger. Taako groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"He's turning fifty," he said, slightly muffled. Kravitz nodded slowly, not sure of what was going on.

"He sure is. Why is that a problem exactly?" He asked. Taako shot back up to a sitting position and grabbed Kravitz, turning him so they were face to face. The Reaper was confused, but happy to see his boyfriend's pretty eyes so close. And he smelt like lavender.

" _I'm_ only two hundred and thirty," Taako said, looking exasperated. That was new information. Kravitz had asked Taako once how old he was, but he told him he didn't remember. That was before The Song, though. They would have to talk about it later.

"Mhm?" Kravitz hummed instead of really replying. Since he was still absolutely oblivious and incredibly confused. Taking a deep breath and sighing, Taako continued.

"For someone whose job is all about death, you're not very good at this." He looked at Kravitz, silently begging him to get the point.

"You're worried about Magnus dying?" Kravitz finally guessed. Nodding slowly, Taako looked away and hummed a little under his breath.

"Of course I am," he mumbled. He was hugging himself tightly and still looking away. Was he crying? Kravitz paused for a second. It wasn't often Taako showed this kind of emotion towards his friends. He seemed so... upset. Maybe he didn't understand how long humans live for?

"He's, um, still got around forty years. How- how is that a problem?" Kravitz tried to explain, immediately feeling stupid when the words left his mouth. Taako stared at him, eyes wide and full of tears.

"Fucking- Don't say that!" He screamed, spooking Ginger into jumping off of Kravitz's lap and running out of their room. Kravitz put a hand on Taako's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"I don't understand. Why are you so upset?" He asked. He felt like he was asking a lot of questions. Was he being too intrusive? Was he not communicating correctly? What did that book on relationships say? He couldn't remember. Gods, he'd been with Taako for like, twenty years. Why was he still finding it so hard to decipher his emotions? Was he a bad boyfriend?

Taako curled into a fetal position, resting his head on his knees. He sighed and glanced at Kravitz with a solemn look in his eyes.

"I'm gonna outlive all my friends..." he whispered, hugging his legs tighter. His body shook with quiet sobs.

"You can't- you can't change that," Kravitz said softly in an attempt to comfort his boyfriend. He was never very good at emotions, even when he was alive.

"Doesn't mean I'm not sad about it," Taako said, almost too quiet to hear. Kravitz shivered. He'd never seen Taako like this, in twenty years. Maybe he would be upset, but not like this. What was Kravitz supposed to do? He tried touching Taako's shoulder, but he flinched away. Didn't want to be touched, then.

They sat together in the quiet for a long time. Kravitz's mind was swimming with thoughts, and the tension in the air was impossibly suffocating. A clock was ticking somewhere, Kravitz was hypersensitive to that. Every sound, really. Every sense. The room smelt like dust and lavender. The bedsheets were too soft but still abrasive under his hands. A bitter taste stagnated on his tongue. It was too bright, he had to close his eyes.

"You're immortal, right?" A small voice woke Kravitz up from his trance. When he looked over, Taako was sitting normally again- but his posture told him that they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Yeah, why?" Kravitz answered as quickly as he could. He wasn't sure where this was going. Taako frowned and looked his boyfriend in the eyes, a few tears still pooling in his own.

"How do _you_ feel about watching _me_ die?" Oh. Kravitz didn't miss a beat. Of course he had thought about this.

"Horrible. But I can't change it so I don't let it bother me. If I let the future control me, I wouldn't have so many friends. Or you," he answered, honestly. Taako smiled weakly, sad eyes looking at a blank space on the wall.

"That's shitty," he said. Kravitz nodded in agreement.

"Maybe. I don't know how Barry and Lup feel about it," he said. Kravitz wasn't sure if he should bring those two into the conversation. They were immortal now, too. It probably sucked knowing the three people you were closest to would outlive you.

"I don't want to talk to Lup about it," Taako said abruptly, "and Barry will just suggest bringing me back to life." He smiled knowingly at Kravitz, who grinned back.

"He can't do that, legally," he said. Taako laughed, wiping his eyes. Kravitz mentally noted that it was the best sound he ever heard.

"Wanna bet? 'Taako just let me get a lock of your hair! Why? For science, of course!'" Taako said, poorly imitating Barry's voice.

"I love you," Kravitz said suddenly, staring at Taako with complete adoration. Taako smirked and cuddled up to him, finally okay with contact.

"You too, bones."

\----------------

The next evening, Taako and Magnus were standing outside on Magnus' balcony. Taako was paying attention to the feeling of the smooth, hand crafted wooden railing under his fingers. He sighed and looked at the stars above them.

"You're old now," Taako said. Magnus scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Shut up. You're like... five hundred or something," he retorted with an unsure tone. Taako laughed. Wow. He really needed to start telling people his age. He still couldn't remember when his birthday was, though.

"I- I'm two hundred and thirty," Taako managed to say through his laughter. Magnus looked at him, shocked.

" _Oh._ What's that in, like, human terms?" He asked. Taako smiled and waved his hand around, non-committed.

"About thirty or so," he said. Magnus thought for a while, before smirking maliciously. Taako raised an eyebrow at his friend, wondering what he was thinking.

"You're a baby," Magnus whispered playfully. Taako shoved him lightly, trying to suppress a smile.

"Fuck off, old man." Magnus laughed at Taako's comment, making his eyes wrinkle up in a way the elf had seen many times. This time was different, though. It was calm and comfortable and it made Taako really appreciate his friendship with Magnus. They had been through hell together, and they both had the scars to prove it. Moments like these were quickly running out, and Taako wanted to hold Magnus' laughter forever. Store away the tranquillity of the whole scene.

Good moments could not last forever, he supposed.

"Hey! I've still got thirty years at the least. I'm not old yet!" Magnus exclaimed. Taako's smile faded as he heard Magnus' words. Was that really how long the guy felt like he had left? That was nothing! Taako looked down at his shaking hands, and gripped the railing tightly to try to hide the nervous movement.

"Thirty? Krav said forty..." he said with a pitifully fake laugh. Magnus grinned, oblivious to the soul-crushing moment Taako was having.

"Kravitz clearly hasn't met me," he said, as if his recklessness was something to be proud of. Maybe it was once, when it was them (and Merle) against the world. When they had to fight horrifying monsters and all that shit. But now, Magnus throwing himself at the scariest creature he can find - unprecedented, unpredictable and unprovoked - was terrifying for everyone who was close to him. They didn't _do_ adventures anymore. That wasn't their thing. Magnus just randomly went on his own quests, without telling anyone until it was over.

He would never admit it, but that shit scared Taako to the core of his soul.

"I should visit you more," Taako said after a long period of less-than-comfortable silence. He'd had the thought ever since Magnus moved out of the 'IPRE (minus Lucretia and Davenport, plus some friends) house'. Taako had been the one to suggest a huge shared accommodation, after realising he wasn't ready to live without his (almost) whole family. But Magnus moved to his re-built town of wherever. And dammit, he missed the guy.

"Fuckin- what? Are you really that worried?" Magnus asked, looking unhappy. Taako sighed, he hated telling people that he cared about them. Feelings weren't his thing at all.

"I'm gonna live a long time after you're gone. I wanna make it all count," Taako said, wistfully. Fuck. He was going to cry again. Pull it together, Taako. Magnus was avoiding his eyes, opting to stare at the stars instead - a solemn expression crossing his face.

"That's dark, man," he mumbled. He could see the moon base from here. Taako tugged at his sleeves.

"Sorry." He stared at the ground.

"You can see me more, if you want. Don't visit on Thursdays, though," Magnus offered. Taako looked at him with a mildly interested expression.

"Why?" He asked.

"Lucy- Lucretia sees me on Thursdays and I know you're, uh, not on speaking terms yet," Magnus answered with the correct amount of awkwardness. _Yet._ Taako hated that word. It implied that he would forgive Lucretia for what she did. Maybe he would. Maybe not before she died. He was hauntingly aware of how little time the woman had left. Taako reflexively curled in on himself as he tried not to think about it.

"Oh. Okay," was all that he said, though his mind was screaming a lot more. Mostly profanities. There was a silence that Taako was all too familiar with. An awkwardness he had been feeling for twenty years. When Lup talked enthusiastically about something that he couldn't quite remember. When he asked Kravitz how he died. When anyone tried to inquire about what kind of relationship he had with that bastard Sazed, exactly. He was uncomfortable.

Magnus took the time to study Taako's face. He wasn't old, for an elf, but his eyes told a different story. They were tired, pained. He was still battling trauma from twenty years ago, and probably had the hardest time recovering of all of them. Magnus new what it was like, to lose someone you love. But forgetting them entirely? It would break him. It broke Taako, he just didn't show it. Not often, anyway. It was all in those eyes...

"Taako?" Magnus asked, breaking the silence like an axe cutting through a rotting tree. Y'know, messy but necessary.

"Hmm?" Taako hummed, absent. He was staring into the dark void of the sky, and Magnus was starting to worry that the elf was disassociating.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a soft tone. Taako nodded peacefully.

"Just peachy, my dude," he answered, quiet. He was lying through his teeth, obviously, but it was what Magnus needed to hear right now. Even if neither of them believed it.

"Hey, Mags?" Taako said, a bit louder than before - but still quiet. The stars were still when he looked at them, he wondered what they looked like on the sea. Davenport would know. He should visit Davenport, too. What happened to consistent train of thought? Oh, right. Magnus.

"Yeah?" Magnus replied. Taako turned to face his friend, trying to ignore his greying hair and old eyes, instead focussing on his scars. The one's he could see, anyway. They never changed, some were new. Taako sighed and smiled slightly.

"Happy birthday. Try to make it forty more years."

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this please check out my other things!!! They have a similar style, especially the other works in this series!


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